Steven P. BarrettPOLITICSRAMBLE OR POLITICS RAMBLE OR SCRAMBLED POLITICS?
June 26th 2008 19:59
NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING ABOUT THE DOMAIN TITLE, NOT IN THE LEAST. JUST HAVING A LITTLE GOOD NATURED FUN.
My name is Steven Barrett, and I'm a writer, and past reporter/columnist living in Massachustts. Although I interned at the National Journalism Center in Washington, DC a quarter century ago, I'm too old fashioned to take on that fancy-schmancy word, "journalist." Reporter/columnist -- those words carry much more weight.
Anyway you look at it, it sure beats working.
For the past quarter century, I've wanted to have my own political column, and thanks to blogging, this is as close as I've been able to reach this dream. Perhaps I might indeed develop my own "syndicated column" much in the same manner as some of my "heroes" or leading lights -- some of whom I don't agree with most often. But I do like their style and occasional chutzpah. One thing for sure, we sure somebody like Art Buchwald again! That man knew how to get a point across and still leave Washington, DC in one piece, albeit a bit pained on its sides for the many laughes he gave us through his columns.
It's not that I haven't written regular columns in past years, but they were for small local papers and never presented nearly anything close to the kind of impact a well-written blog can bring to any given subject. There's another advantage in developing a domain blog: If yo're stuck in a situation that's both geologically and ideologically constraining (i.e., your local newspaper has a near-monopoly when it comes to presenting "varying opinions," having access to a computer and some knowledge about the workings of building a decent blog can do wonders when it comes to levelling the playing field and attracting new readers.
"Politics Ramble" is a good name to describe a political blog that I'm going to do my best to "mix up" the subject matter, if for nothing else than to keep both writer and reader(s) from getting tired of the same old same old. Just pick up any newspaper and you'll notice a few columnists who are excellent when it comes to covering defense, or economics or perhaps religion. Or, maybe education's their speciality? That's be easy enough for me to follow and perhaps just concentrate on religion, crime or education since I've had considerable experience in those fields before. On the other hand, one can get awfully tired of the "been there done that routine" and so you might see more postings like those I wrote about Amtrak and Walt Disney World just to mix it up.
And for anyone who hasn't already seen my earlier posts, let me share some of my "biases" or "axes" for the sake of "full disclosure."
CAUTION: IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO NON-POLITICALLY CORRECT WRITERS AND THEIR BIASES, READING THIS BLOG MIGHT CAUSE SEVERE EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, NOT TO MENTION ACUTE POLITICO-PSYCHOTRAUMA, THUS REQUIRING AMPLE DOSAGES OF TLC, PRAYERS AND WHATEVER'S IN YOUR FAMILY BEVERAGE CUBBOARD. [/COLOR]
ALSO, IF YOU A LIBERAL DEMOCRAT WHO CAN'T GET ENOUGH POLTICAL CORRECTNESS AND SEE IT INJECTED, PUSHED, OR SIMPLY RAMMED INTO THE POLITICAL SYSTEM, YOUR PARTY AND DOWN ITS BOSSES THROATS, YOU MAY NEED TO CALL A MEDICAL DOCTOR SPECIALIZING IN BOTH INTERNAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESCRIPTIONS IN ADVANCE TO ENSURE A SUFFICIENTLY CALM SET OF NERVES BEFORE GOING ANY FURTHER.
OTHER HAND, IF YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE EVER SO TRIGGER-HAPPY WAR-MONGERING NEO OR NON-NEO CONSERVATIVES WHO WANT TO KICK GRANNY OFF SOCIAL SECURITY AND BEGGAR THE POOR OUT OF THEIR "OVERLY GENEROUS" WELFARE STIPENDS, YOU M IGHT WANT TO CHECK YOUR MEDICINE OR LIQUOR CABINETS, TOO. AND, PLEASE, DON'T TAKE SCALIA'S RECENT OPINION ON WHAT USED TO BE RESPONSIBLE GUN CONTROL TOO LITERALLY, AND COME AFTER ME, EITHER. OR, FOR THAT MATTER, DON'T GRAB FOR YOUR BIBLES. I'M SURE SOME OF YOU ULTRA- RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES WOULD LOVE TO LITERALLY THROW THE BOOK AT--EVEN THOUGH THAT MIGHT CONSTITUTE THE SIN OF BLASPHEMY THE VERY SECOND THAT GOOD BOOK LEAVES YOUR HANDS IN MY DIRECTION.
And you can this straight to the bank from a guy living right here in "Happy Valley," western Massachusetts -- My "signature, m.o., motto, rationale, reason for getting out of bed ... you name it --
"Politically Incorrect Democrats Make The Best Democrats!"
Can't say you weren't warned!
My name is Steven Barrett, and I'm a writer, and past reporter/columnist living in Massachustts. Although I interned at the National Journalism Center in Washington, DC a quarter century ago, I'm too old fashioned to take on that fancy-schmancy word, "journalist." Reporter/columnist -- those words carry much more weight.
Anyway you look at it, it sure beats working.
For the past quarter century, I've wanted to have my own political column, and thanks to blogging, this is as close as I've been able to reach this dream. Perhaps I might indeed develop my own "syndicated column" much in the same manner as some of my "heroes" or leading lights -- some of whom I don't agree with most often. But I do like their style and occasional chutzpah. One thing for sure, we sure somebody like Art Buchwald again! That man knew how to get a point across and still leave Washington, DC in one piece, albeit a bit pained on its sides for the many laughes he gave us through his columns.
It's not that I haven't written regular columns in past years, but they were for small local papers and never presented nearly anything close to the kind of impact a well-written blog can bring to any given subject. There's another advantage in developing a domain blog: If yo're stuck in a situation that's both geologically and ideologically constraining (i.e., your local newspaper has a near-monopoly when it comes to presenting "varying opinions," having access to a computer and some knowledge about the workings of building a decent blog can do wonders when it comes to levelling the playing field and attracting new readers.
"Politics Ramble" is a good name to describe a political blog that I'm going to do my best to "mix up" the subject matter, if for nothing else than to keep both writer and reader(s) from getting tired of the same old same old. Just pick up any newspaper and you'll notice a few columnists who are excellent when it comes to covering defense, or economics or perhaps religion. Or, maybe education's their speciality? That's be easy enough for me to follow and perhaps just concentrate on religion, crime or education since I've had considerable experience in those fields before. On the other hand, one can get awfully tired of the "been there done that routine" and so you might see more postings like those I wrote about Amtrak and Walt Disney World just to mix it up.
And for anyone who hasn't already seen my earlier posts, let me share some of my "biases" or "axes" for the sake of "full disclosure."
CAUTION: IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO NON-POLITICALLY CORRECT WRITERS AND THEIR BIASES, READING THIS BLOG MIGHT CAUSE SEVERE EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, NOT TO MENTION ACUTE POLITICO-PSYCHOTRAUMA, THUS REQUIRING AMPLE DOSAGES OF TLC, PRAYERS AND WHATEVER'S IN YOUR FAMILY BEVERAGE CUBBOARD. [/COLOR]
ALSO, IF YOU A LIBERAL DEMOCRAT WHO CAN'T GET ENOUGH POLTICAL CORRECTNESS AND SEE IT INJECTED, PUSHED, OR SIMPLY RAMMED INTO THE POLITICAL SYSTEM, YOUR PARTY AND DOWN ITS BOSSES THROATS, YOU MAY NEED TO CALL A MEDICAL DOCTOR SPECIALIZING IN BOTH INTERNAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESCRIPTIONS IN ADVANCE TO ENSURE A SUFFICIENTLY CALM SET OF NERVES BEFORE GOING ANY FURTHER.
OTHER HAND, IF YOU'RE ONE OF THOSE EVER SO TRIGGER-HAPPY WAR-MONGERING NEO OR NON-NEO CONSERVATIVES WHO WANT TO KICK GRANNY OFF SOCIAL SECURITY AND BEGGAR THE POOR OUT OF THEIR "OVERLY GENEROUS" WELFARE STIPENDS, YOU M IGHT WANT TO CHECK YOUR MEDICINE OR LIQUOR CABINETS, TOO. AND, PLEASE, DON'T TAKE SCALIA'S RECENT OPINION ON WHAT USED TO BE RESPONSIBLE GUN CONTROL TOO LITERALLY, AND COME AFTER ME, EITHER. OR, FOR THAT MATTER, DON'T GRAB FOR YOUR BIBLES. I'M SURE SOME OF YOU ULTRA- RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES WOULD LOVE TO LITERALLY THROW THE BOOK AT--EVEN THOUGH THAT MIGHT CONSTITUTE THE SIN OF BLASPHEMY THE VERY SECOND THAT GOOD BOOK LEAVES YOUR HANDS IN MY DIRECTION.
And you can this straight to the bank from a guy living right here in "Happy Valley," western Massachusetts -- My "signature, m.o., motto, rationale, reason for getting out of bed ... you name it --
"Politically Incorrect Democrats Make The Best Democrats!"
Can't say you weren't warned!
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